Small-Scale Fishers High and Dry as Permit Delays Threaten Livelihoods

The silence is deafening, but a powerful rage is building at community level. Historically disadvantaged and marginalised traditional fisherfolk in the Western Cape are under immense pressure to put food on the table. But there is also widespread belief that certain fisheries management officials are using “devious strategies” to keep them out of the water and make their lives a living hell.

True or not, most Western Cape fishers feel they are being messed around. So much so that hundreds of fishers marched on the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) recently to hand over to officials a memorandum which lists their grievances. This includes that the total allowable catch has been reduced by 16,43% across the board for the 2023/24 season (more about this later)

Bona fide small-scale fishers ‘who get their hands wet’ are pleased they may now harvest the Offshore component (20%) of their west coast rock lobster TAC allocation in the Nearshore. But equally they are concerned by a comment made by DDG Sue Middleton in an interview on national television last week that the commercial Offshore component of the west coast rock lobster fishery which use the lobster trap method of capture may now harvest 50% of their Offshore TAC allocation in the Nearshore.